5th Battalion 14th Marines
Encyclopedia
5th Battalion 14th Marines (5/14) is a reserve artillery
battalion of the United States Marine Corps
, comprising four firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is based in Seal Beach, California
and its primary weapon system is the M777A2 howitzer
with a maximum effective range of 40K. They fall under the command of the 14th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.
, following its first action at the Battle of Kwajalein
. The new unit was made up of a headquarters battery plus three firing batteries armed with four M2A1 105mm howitzers
each. This was a short lived activation because the battalion was redesignated the 4th 105mm Howitzer Battalion, V Amphibious Corps
(VAC) on 16 April, just six weeks later. This was purely an administrative move since the battalion was attached to the 14th Marine Regiment for upcoming Operation Forager, the invasion of the Marianas
. Throughout Operation Forager, the battalion continued to be referred to as "5/14" in after action reports, and at least one official history uses that terminology as well.
The battalion landed on Saipan
on 15 June 1944, and was almost wiped out by Japanese fire early the next morning. 10 of 12 of the battalion's howitzers were knocked out of action. Due to extraordinary efforts by service and ordnance personnel, all guns were back in action that afternoon. Although designated a general support element, 5/14 was often used for direct support during the drive north and often fired in support of the 2nd Marine Division and the Army's
27th Infantry Division as well.
Once Saipan was secured, the battalion joined four other Marine 105mm battalions in Groupment A, XXIV Corps Artillery, a temporary task organization created to bombard nearby Tinian
. The 105s could range the northern half of Tinian so were used for preliminary fires and then supported the landing by the 4th Marine Division. Once the White Beaches had been taken, the Marine 105s loaded into landing ships then sailed for Tinian Town located about halfway down the island. The 4th 105mm Howitzer Battalion came ashore on 27 July to support the 2nd and 4th Marine Division's final attacks.
Upon returning to Maui
, the battalion was rearmed and renamed the 4th 155mm Howitzer Battalion, VAC and fought using that designation at the Battle of Iwo Jima
then returned to Maui to prepare for the invasion of Japan
. The abrupt end of the war in the Pacific resulted in the deactivation of the 4th 155mm Howitzer Battalion in November 1945.
. From then on, reserve units were to become mirror images of their active duty counter parts. As a result, the 14th Marines were reorganized to include three direct support battalions armed with 105mm and 155mm towed howitzers while two general support battalions were armed with self-propelled heavy cannon. The 3rd Field Artillery Group headquarters located in San Francisco was redesignated HQ, 5/14 on 1 September 1979. The firing batteries were: Battery N, armed with M110 Sp 8-inch howitzers, at El Paso; Battery O, also armed with 8-inch SP howitzers, at Oklahoma City; and Battery N, armed with M107 SP 175mm Guns, at Denver. The other general support battalion (4/14) was armed with M109 155mm SP howitzers. In 1983, Battery P was rearmed with 8-inch howitzers after the 175mm guns were dropped. Two years later the 14th Marines was once again reorganized. This time the 1st and 5th Battalion headquarters batteries swapped designations, so the 5th Battalion was now located at Los Angeles rather than San Francisco; the firing batteries remained as before.
No units of the 5th battalion were activated for service during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm
. 5th Battalion, 14th Marines was originally located in downtown Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine
. In 1994 the Northridge earthquake
damaged the battalion's facility there and caused the unit to move to the Long Beach Naval Station
. When the Naval Station was closed as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure
Program the battalion headquarters moved into temporary facilities aboard the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
, California. The battalion occupied the current site on the Weapons Station, the Sergeant Foster Reserve Training Center, during October 2000.
Battery N was deployed to southern Afghanistan
in the spring of 2009 attached to 3rd Battalion 11th Marines
. They are part of the 17,000 troop increase announced by President Obama
in mid-February 2010. The battery was split into two supporting operations from FOB Pico and FOB Payne.
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
battalion of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
, comprising four firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is based in Seal Beach, California
Seal Beach, California
-Neighborhoods:Seal Beach encompasses the Leisure World retirement gated community with roughly 9,000 residents. This was the first major planned retirement community of its type in the U.S...
and its primary weapon system is the M777A2 howitzer
M777 howitzer
The M777 howitzer is a towed 155 mm artillery piece, successor to the M198 howitzer in the United States Marine Corps and United States Army. The M777 is also used by the Canadian Army, and has been in action in Afghanistan since February 2006 along with the associated GPS-guided Excalibur...
with a maximum effective range of 40K. They fall under the command of the 14th Marine Regiment and the 4th Marine Division.
Mission
5th Battalion, 14th Marines is prepared, upon activation, to provide artillery fires "on time, on target", in the execution of the artillery battalion's tactical mission to provide direct support to a maneuver element or general and reinforcing fires to a senior artillery organization. 5th Battalion, 14th Marines will augment and reinforce active Marine forces, as directed, in time of war, national emergency or contingency operations.Current units
- Headquarters Battery — Seal Beach, California
- Battery N — Pico Rivera, CaliforniaPico Rivera, CaliforniaPico Rivera is a city located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is situated approximately 11 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, on the eastern edge of the Los Angeles basin, and on the southern edge of the area known as the San Gabriel Valley...
- Battery O — Seal Beach, California
- Battery P — Spokane, WashingtonSpokane, WashingtonSpokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
- Battery Q — Aurora, ColoradoAurora, ColoradoCity of Aurora is a Home Rule Municipality spanning Arapahoe, Adams, and Douglas counties in Colorado. Aurora is an eastern suburb of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area . The city is the third most populous city in the Colorado and the 56th most populous city in the...
World War II
5th Battalion, 14th Marines was created on 1 March 1944 when the 4th Marine Division returned to Camp Maui, Territory of HawaiiTerritory of Hawaii
The Territory of Hawaii or Hawaii Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 7, 1898, until August 21, 1959, when its territory, with the exception of Johnston Atoll, was admitted to the Union as the fiftieth U.S. state, the State of Hawaii.The U.S...
, following its first action at the Battle of Kwajalein
Battle of Kwajalein
The Battle of Kwajalein was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought from 31 January-3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of...
. The new unit was made up of a headquarters battery plus three firing batteries armed with four M2A1 105mm howitzers
M101 howitzer
The 105 mm M2A1 howitzer was the standard light field howitzer for the United States in World War II, seeing action in both European and Pacific theaters. Entering production in 1941, it quickly entered the war against the Imperial Japanese Army in the Pacific, where it gained a reputation...
each. This was a short lived activation because the battalion was redesignated the 4th 105mm Howitzer Battalion, V Amphibious Corps
V Amphibious Corps
The V Amphibious Corps was a formation of the United States Marine Corps and was composed of the 3rd, 4th and 5th Marine Divisions during World War II. They were the amphibious landing force for the United States Fifth Fleet and were notably involved in the battles for Tarawa and Saipan in 1944...
(VAC) on 16 April, just six weeks later. This was purely an administrative move since the battalion was attached to the 14th Marine Regiment for upcoming Operation Forager, the invasion of the Marianas
Mariana and Palau Islands campaign
The Mariana and Palau Islands campaign, also known as Operation Forager, was an offensive launched by United States forces against Imperial Japanese forces in the Mariana Islands and Palau in the Pacific Ocean between June and November, 1944 during the Pacific War...
. Throughout Operation Forager, the battalion continued to be referred to as "5/14" in after action reports, and at least one official history uses that terminology as well.
The battalion landed on Saipan
Battle of Saipan
The Battle of Saipan was a battle of the Pacific campaign of World War II, fought on the island of Saipan in the Mariana Islands from 15 June-9 July 1944. The Allied invasion fleet embarking the expeditionary forces left Pearl Harbor on 5 June 1944, the day before Operation Overlord in Europe was...
on 15 June 1944, and was almost wiped out by Japanese fire early the next morning. 10 of 12 of the battalion's howitzers were knocked out of action. Due to extraordinary efforts by service and ordnance personnel, all guns were back in action that afternoon. Although designated a general support element, 5/14 was often used for direct support during the drive north and often fired in support of the 2nd Marine Division and the Army's
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
27th Infantry Division as well.
Once Saipan was secured, the battalion joined four other Marine 105mm battalions in Groupment A, XXIV Corps Artillery, a temporary task organization created to bombard nearby Tinian
Tinian
Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.-Geography:Tinian is about 5 miles southwest of its sister island, Saipan, from which it is separated by the Saipan Channel. It has a land area of 39 sq.mi....
. The 105s could range the northern half of Tinian so were used for preliminary fires and then supported the landing by the 4th Marine Division. Once the White Beaches had been taken, the Marine 105s loaded into landing ships then sailed for Tinian Town located about halfway down the island. The 4th 105mm Howitzer Battalion came ashore on 27 July to support the 2nd and 4th Marine Division's final attacks.
Upon returning to Maui
Maui
The island of Maui is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the state of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Lānai, Kahoolawe, and Molokai. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444,...
, the battalion was rearmed and renamed the 4th 155mm Howitzer Battalion, VAC and fought using that designation at the Battle of Iwo Jima
Battle of Iwo Jima
The Battle of Iwo Jima , or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. The U.S...
then returned to Maui to prepare for the invasion of Japan
Operation Downfall
Operation Downfall was the Allied plan for the invasion of Japan near the end of World War II. The operation was cancelled when Japan surrendered after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the Soviet Union's declaration of war against Japan. The operation had two parts: Operation...
. The abrupt end of the war in the Pacific resulted in the deactivation of the 4th 155mm Howitzer Battalion in November 1945.
1980s&1990s
The 5/14 was reactivated as part of the new "Total Force" doctrine adopted following the Vietnam WarVietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
. From then on, reserve units were to become mirror images of their active duty counter parts. As a result, the 14th Marines were reorganized to include three direct support battalions armed with 105mm and 155mm towed howitzers while two general support battalions were armed with self-propelled heavy cannon. The 3rd Field Artillery Group headquarters located in San Francisco was redesignated HQ, 5/14 on 1 September 1979. The firing batteries were: Battery N, armed with M110 Sp 8-inch howitzers, at El Paso; Battery O, also armed with 8-inch SP howitzers, at Oklahoma City; and Battery N, armed with M107 SP 175mm Guns, at Denver. The other general support battalion (4/14) was armed with M109 155mm SP howitzers. In 1983, Battery P was rearmed with 8-inch howitzers after the 175mm guns were dropped. Two years later the 14th Marines was once again reorganized. This time the 1st and 5th Battalion headquarters batteries swapped designations, so the 5th Battalion was now located at Los Angeles rather than San Francisco; the firing batteries remained as before.
No units of the 5th battalion were activated for service during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
. 5th Battalion, 14th Marines was originally located in downtown Los Angeles at Chavez Ravine
Chávez Ravine
Chavez Ravine is an area in Sulfir Canyon that is the current site of Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California.It was named after Julian Chavez, a Los Angeles Councilman in the 19th century.-History:...
. In 1994 the Northridge earthquake
Northridge earthquake
The Northridge earthquake was a massive earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 04:31 Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 10–20 seconds...
damaged the battalion's facility there and caused the unit to move to the Long Beach Naval Station
Long Beach Naval Shipyard
thumb|right|300px|Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1993The Long Beach Naval Shipyard, which closed in 1997, was located at Terminal Island between the city of Long Beach and the San Pedro district of Los Angeles and approximately 23 miles south of the Los Angeles International Airport.The Long Beach...
. When the Naval Station was closed as a result of the Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure
Base Realignment and Closure is a process of the United States federal government directed at the administration and operation of the Armed Forces, used by the United States Department of Defense and Congress to close excess military installations and realign the total asset inventory to reduce...
Program the battalion headquarters moved into temporary facilities aboard the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach
Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach is a United States Navy weapons and munitions loading, storage and maintenance facility located in Seal Beach, California with detachments in Concord, Fallbrook, and San Diego, all also in California...
, California. The battalion occupied the current site on the Weapons Station, the Sergeant Foster Reserve Training Center, during October 2000.
Global War On terrorism
5th Battalion, 14th Marines was deployed to Iraq as a provisional military police battalion from 2005 through 2006. The battalion was augmented with Marines from various units throughout the Marine Corps and the United States to form 5th Provisional Military Police Battalion, 14th Marines. The units included an active duty MP company from Camp Pendleton, a TOW Platoon from 25th Marines, Marines from 4th Force Reconnaissance and Battery C, 1st Battalion, 14th Marines. During its first deployment after 11 September and its first combat-zone deployment since World War II, the battalion operated five detention facilities, guarded Camp Fallujah and the surrounding area, conducted convoy security and conducted law enforcement operations.Battery N was deployed to southern Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
in the spring of 2009 attached to 3rd Battalion 11th Marines
3rd Battalion 11th Marines
3rd Battalion 11th Marines is an artillery battalion comprising four firing batteries and a headquarters battery. The battalion is based at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California and its primary weapon system is the M777 lightweight howitzer with a maximum...
. They are part of the 17,000 troop increase announced by President Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
in mid-February 2010. The battery was split into two supporting operations from FOB Pico and FOB Payne.
See also
- List of United States Marine Corps battalions
- Organization of the United States Marine CorpsOrganization of the United States Marine CorpsThe United States Marine Corps is organized within the Department of the Navy, which is led by the Secretary of the Navy . The most senior Marine officer is the Commandant of the Marine Corps, responsible for organizing, recruiting, training, and equipping the Marine Corps so that it is ready for...